GPs must speak out on old unfit to drive
TOUGHER GUIDANCE urging GPs to report patients who continue to drive when not medically fit has come into force.
New advice by the General Medical Council (GMC) states doctors have a duty to inform the authorities if a patient is driving against medical advice.
Doctors do not need a patient’s consent to alert the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – or Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland – when a patient has continued driving.
The strengthened advice, which came into effect on Tuesday, says GPs should “make every reasonable effort” to persuade a patient unfit to drive to stop. They should then inform the authorities if they believe there is a “risk of death or serious harm” to others.
Doctors should attempt to inform a patient of their intention to disclose personal information before contacting the DVLA or DVA.
The guidance aims to help GPs balance their legal and ethical duties of confidentiality with wider public protection responsibilities.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said drivers with certain serious medical conditions might fear losing their licence if they follow doctors’ orders and inform the DVLA, but that with the right treatment, many illnesses “will not lead to people having to hang up the keys”.
Gary Rae, campaigns director for Yorkshire-based road safety charity Brake, said: “We appreciate that having to give up driving because of a medical condition is a difficult step for some individuals, and this is a discussion that needs to take place with family, GPs and other medical professionals.”